The world of Formula One has been surprisingly quiet of late, but for the tiresome bleating of a failed politician and the very odd comments from an increasingly obscure one, and there has been little to report.
Sick of the politics, I find it hard, however, to turn away from them, especially when they dominate the rare three week break that is about to be broken with the wailing of V8’s at the Nurburgring in a few days time.
We’ll dismiss Ecclestone’s rant about dictators of yore as what he insists it was – ‘a misunderstanding’ – for it is the much quoted comments of Max Mosley that garnered more fitting attention.
Forced to back down in order to save the sport he claims he was saviour of all along, Mosley took umbrage at comments by Luca de Montezemelo which, Mosley insisted, labeled him a dictator. He didn’t, although he did imply it, but then why shouldn’t he as that is exactly how Mosley has positioned himself these days.
The problem that I have is that the FIA is a very able body, and must remain such, but it is not one man; yet, repeatedly, it appears as though Max Mosley believes he has the right to be the judge and jury as the President of this organisation. From this side of the room I would say all of his bolts have been fired and h has nothing less to give; immediately after the announcement that he would not stand again he declared relief and more, yet two days later he returns banging drums and rallying troops for another bout of war.
Why? What is in it for the sport, for the fans, for the sponsors, for the teams, if Mosley tries to turn the agreement on its head?
The difference in approach between the FIA and FOTA has been akin to chasm, a gulf; not a whisper from the teams, apart from the assurance that the agreement stands, and that they are going ahead with plans for the new season, the new Concorde Agreement, and that Mosley will not be standing again. FOTA will not be broken, and Mosley should realise such.
Among the many quotes and comments that has caught my eye – many recycled and repeated – has been one that stands out. It is quite simple, and it reads:
“All of those involved forget the public at their peril. If enough people become sufficiently disillusioned with the whole appallingly misadministered mess, they will stop going to races. They might even stop watching them on TV. The TV companies might then have second thoughts about transmitting the Grands Prix. The sponsors would not like that. And then everything would go down the pan.
Grand Prix racing has more superbly prepared, competitive cars than ever before. It has a great many brilliant drivers, all of whom have legions of fans. It would be a tragedy if internal disputes brought the whole thing tumbling down.”
In truth, I wish I had found that quote a few weeks ago, before the acclaimed meeting, as it would have had more resonance then; it still resonates now, of course, and those of you used to current journalistic standards and styles in F1 reporting may have noticed a few tell tale signs that all is not right with this quote: ‘Grands Prix’ instead of ‘F1’, and the placing of going to races ahead of watching on TV are two.
The quote is from Autosport, once the most revered and regarded motor sport publication in the world, but now one that would be unlikely to print such a quote, and comes from the pen of the then Editor Mark Hughes, I believe, in the issue dated February 4th, 1982.
It is an interesting issue, coming as it did shortly after the legendary ‘Drivers Strike’ at that years South African Grand Prix, a weekend that is etched in my memory in bright colours, as I remember clawing at newspapers and tuning into obscure radio stations for the latest news on bread roll throwing, insults, refusals to drive and sleep overs. It was a wild time, but then the drivers were the ones making the point.
This time the teams did the talking, and they got their point across with dignity, with class, and without resorting to hysterics; yes, I understand the criticism of their post meeting comments about ‘victory’ and so on, but we must remember they are a group who had been deliberately persecuted by Mosley in his efforts to, apparently, save the sport.
There is on aspect of this saga that is particularly distasteful, and that is the recent revelation, sorry allegation, that the FIA insisted on new teams committing to a three year deal with Cosworth if they were to be granted a place on the grid in 2010.
For teams such as Prodrive and Lola, Epsilon Euskadi and N.Technology, all of whom are believed to have cemented links with manufacturers, being told this one day – just one day – before the final deadline for selection must have been shocking, to the tune of a knock out. They had gone through the process of analysis and evaluation, unknowing that their proposals were not what the bosses wanted.
They had wasted large amounts of money to get where they were, to no avail. Furthermore, they subsequently discovered that a high ranking FIA man, the Chief Steward no less, had been driving deals into place for money for Manor Motorsport – the surprise entry – well before it had been granted a place on the grid. This is not mere conflict of interest, but absolute corruption.
It transpires, then, that the whole selection routine is inherently flawed, more to say fixed, and that FOTA are, understandably, not happy bunnies.
My question is one that has troubled me before, and it is this: if Mosley is this super-intelligent and quite brilliant man that we are often told he is, how could he be so foolish as to let such blatant and obvious transgressions as the Cosworth-or- out policy and the Donnelly-for-Manor charade come about? Did he think that the FOTA teams, and the rejected logical entrants, would not say anything, or that nobody would recognise his right hand man taking Saudi dignitaries around the Manor plant?
He could, at least, have dressed Donnelly up in a uniform of some sort, and given him a false moustache and glasses. But no, Mr Brilliant continues to display an arrogance that is quite breathtaking, and it does F1 no good at all.
We can only hope that FOTA are right and that the 2010 regulations are in place and ready to go, and we can only look forward to seeing which worthy man will take the place of Mosley in October.
Before I close I would like to share with you another piece from that 1982 edition of Autosport, this time a letter from one Tony Moy, of the travel company Page and Moy who made a name back then offering tours to Grands Prix and, as far as I know, still do. He writes:
“The 1981 Formula 1 season was spoiled by much publicised disagreements and indecision which left the World Championship calendar in total disarray and doubt for many months. The situation created was hardly conducive to encourage supporters to place faith in Formula 1 racing, when there was no guarantee of events taking place. One would have thought that FISA and FOCA would have learned by their mistakes in 1981 and become determined that these unfortunate events would not be repeated.
It is hardly encouraging, therefore, that the first Grand Prix of the 1982 season should have strikes and suspensions, and that the political aspect of the sport has taken precedence over the most important parties – the spectators and sponsors who have shown unwavering support over the years. That the second event in the 1982 calendar is now in jeopardy is a sad reflection on the situation.”
In fact that second event, the Argentine Grand Prix, did not take place for one reason or another, variously ‘rampant inflation’ and also influenced by the Falklands war that was raging between Argentina and Great Britain at the time.
The poignant point of the letter is that it is written by a man whose livelihood depended to some extent on being able to take people to Grands Prix, and what is forgotten by many these days is that there are many people – many more, by nature – who today are reliant on F1 for income. This is a business, not just a sport, and there are people to consider, real people with an interest or with financial commitments, rather than those who inhabit plush offices in central Paris without concern.
Let’s hope that F1 is on the road to repair, and look forward to what is, undoubtedly, a new era.
Written by 3 on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:37:49
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